Ajax Case Study Analysis

Human Resources Management and Communication in Project Management

MGMT 4016

Professor Paula Hacking

Kim Cohen 101016513

Laine Laplante 101013772

Safiullah Momand 101017631

Eric Deschenes 101032105

Reshma Patil 100958133

Many will praise his proactive response to potential cross-generation problems on the team and

his attempts at refocusing the project team after the first setback. Others will say “the buck stops at the

top” and either the original estimates were off or the failed tests are a result of his management. Tran did

his best to keep the project on schedule and adopted many approaches to motivate his team to keep them

on schedule but with the issues arising from the product and not the team members it’s hard to say

whether the delays were from Tran’s management or the technology.

Tran’s approach to managing his team was effective. He first took them and key staff involved

from the government on a two day retreat to help with team building and introduce the project’s major ob-

jectives and basic plan. This allowed for some camaraderie between the engineers. Although there were

salary disputes between the hardware engineers and the electrical engineers, he implemented a bonus pro-

gram that each team member would receive upon completion of the project on schedule to encourage the

them to work efficiently and effectively. Without motivation, the project would have quickly fallen apart

and the conflict within the team would put the project further behind. Monetary incentives are an effective

motivation tool. Once the project was underway, he started every day with a status meeting where they re-

viewed the previous day and set goals for that day. This made it extremely clear to each team member

what was expected and allowed them to address issues from the previous day before running in to more

problems. This was an effective approach to ensure that problems they were facing with the technology

would not go unaddressed and cause them strife further down the line in the project. He also spent time

working with them and did not just stay on the sidelines and watch. This was an effective approach to

managing the project because it lessened the work load on the engineers and allowed for more work to be

done each day with the added help from Tran. With the multiple approaches Tran implemented to manage

his team, he would be considered an effective project manager. He not only motivated the team to suc-
ceed, but he worked with them to ensure the project went well and would remain on schedule through all

the bumps in the road.

Question 2: Based on your analysis, identify the problems Tran faces.

Tran is a talented project manager with five years of experience. He is highly motivated and

likes to get the job done effectively and efficiently. To date, Tran has successfully completed all of his

past projects with a 50% early completion rate. With high self-efficacy, Tran was confident that he

would be able to take his project management expertise to the Ajax project under contract with the

CEBEX Corporation.

As CEBEX is a huge defense corporation with annual sales in the billions, there was a signifi-

cant amount of pressure put on Tran to succeed. One of the first major concerns that Tran faced oc-

curred immediately when the technology system failed to perform. The system made sense in the

design principles and had even been tested in the laboratory; however, it failed in the real world ap-

plication. The team’s hardware and electrical engineers set out to solve the problems and build sub-

systems for the project to succeed. Following a series of tests verifying the total system perfor-

mance, Tran grew excited that the technical glitches were a thing of the past. The Alpha II test was

conducted and everyone had high hopes that they could move forward with the project, however,

once again the system failed to perform. Following the second failed attempt to solve the problem,

the hardware and electrical engineers got back to work to investigate while the team patiently

waited. Unfortunately, Tran’s problem maintained as Alpha III also failed. Tran and his team suf-

fered the absence of a strong subject matter expert in the team. They tried to solve the technological

issue themselves, but suffered multiple failures. Overall, CEBEX’s leadership team did not explain
and set the right expectations to the team on its various risk components and possible risk manage-

ment strategies. Had the leadership team identified the technology system failing and possible solu-

tions to the problem, Tran and his team would have had more of the tools necessary to succeed.

The second major problem that Tran faced aside from the continuously failing technological

systems was the dynamic of his team. Not all of the project team members had the experience on

working similar, complex problems. The continuous failure of the technological system caused a ma-

jor setback for Tran, as well as his entire project team. Each lost day would test the patience and in-

genuity of this team. Not to mention, the two groups differed in many ways and seemed to view

problems inherently different. The majority of the hardware engineers were former military, ma-

ture, family men who presented conservative beliefs. Meanwhile, the electrical engineers were a

younger, motlier grew who lacked maturity and seemed arrogant at times.

In addition, due to the high failure rate, the team’s goodwill had been tested and emotions

were running high. This may have been a contributing factor to the argument within CEBEX around

salary issues. There was a poor compensation strategy implemented with high levels of imbalance

being endured by the employees. The electrical engineers were paid a premium salary from the be-

ginning while the hardware engineers only earned a comparable amount after working 20 years for

the company.

Tran noticed the team getting disgruntled and began to host daily meetings from then on.

Each meeting discussed what was accomplished yesterday and what will be accomplished today in

order to keep hopes up high and the project on track. Looking at the complexity of the project, an in-

ternal psychometric test should have been included as part of the selection process for motivational

and team building effort.

technological system failures and the arguing project team. CEBEX set Tran and his team up for suc-

cess as they did not explain and set expectations to the team on its various risks and possible risk

management strategies. When the systems failed, a subject expert should have been notified so that

the team wouldn’t have to try and fix the problem themselves and fail. Lastly, the conflicting com-

pensation with high level of imbalance caused arguments between team members where a psycho-

metric test could have assisted. These problems are contingent on meeting the project milestones

and eventually, completing the project by the project completion date.

Question 3: How would you go about solving them NOW? Use HR concepts that relate to your work

thus far in this course. Substantiate your solutions and resolutions with detailed

responses. Include any job aids as appropriate and include in your presentation.

After reading the case we can observed that there were two major issues and some additional ar-

eas where improvements could be made successfully complete the project. The first issues is that there

was no proper onboarding done for the team members hired before starting the project. Onboarding is the

process by which new hires get adjusted to the social and performance aspects of their jobs to allow for a

quick and smooth transition in to their position. They learn the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behaviors

required to function effectively within the organization. (Vanden Bos, inc.com) In this case, employees

were not aware of the complexity of the project and started working as soon as they were hired. A proper

orientation was not completed nor were any expectations set for the employees, which is an important

step that should have been completed by the Human Resource team as well as the leadership team. At this

point in the project, to overcome these mistakes would be to start an employee relations program that can

the team understand what the organization’s goals and expectations are.
 The other important issue that we come across after reading the case is the upper leadership com-

munication to Tran, which is a critical factor for success in this project. The solution to this problem is

implementation of a two-way communication primer. The five steps involved in the Two-way communi-

cation primer are:

1. Prepare how you’ll communicate

2. Deliver the message

3. Receive the message

4. Evaluate the effectiveness of the communication afterwards

5. Take corrective action as necessary

Clear communication is the most important aspect to a business’s success.

Another area of improvement would be bringing in a subject matter expert with outstanding expe-

rience in similar complex projects who could assist in solving the technical issues the team is facing. In

the entire project there are hardware and electrical engineers working but there isn’t a Subject Matter Ex-

pert (SME) or a team leader. A subject matter expert is an important part of the team because they have

proficiency in their subject and can guide the team on their approach to the project to ensure the content is

accurate and efficiently done. The proficiency generally comes from education and experience. SMEs

come from academic, technical, and vocational fields. They may work on different types of projects and

have slightly different duties, but their role is essentially to ensure the facts and technical details are cor-

rect. Hence the recruitment and selection team should hire a SME who can train and work with the other

team members. During the selection process the hiring manager needs to use psychometric test to ensure

they hire the best candidate for the job. The use of psychometric testing in the hiring process gives large

and small organizations a competitive edge. Organizations are looking to learn more about their job seek-

ers these days and be able to discover their core competencies through the selection process. The organi-

zation must be aware of their desired core competencies to better prepare and practice psychometric tests,

such as aptitude and personality tests. Implementing the use of these tests will help with the growth of the
company by hiring the ideal candidates for the positions. In particular for the Ajax project, hiring a SME

will be imperative for completion of the project.

Tran also faced an issue with the compensation and bonuses for the team members. Bonus and in-

centive programs can effectively drive employee behavior and yield the desired business results. How-

ever, if not properly designed and implemented, bonus and incentive programs can become a major bar-

rier to business success and create high levels of employee frustration. In this case the team members are

given their bonus only after the completion of the project, which created a sense of frustration within the

team when the tests kept failing and the project schedule was delayed. There was also some conflict be-

tween the electrical engineers and the hardware engineers on the team around their compensation. Electri-

cal engineers were paid more that the hardware engineers which created tension between the teams. The

reasoning for this was that electrical engineers were at a premium, but with the vast difference between

their salaries there was unnecessary strife created between the team. A new compensation strategy should

be designed based on skills, experience, and work done by the team members, this will help change the

mindset of the employees an alleviate conflict on the team. (HR Council)

All in all, there are many more steps that could be taken to improve the team dynamics and the

success of the project, but from our analysis, these are the vital steps that need to be taken to accomplish

their goals within the process of completing the project as well as maintain Tran’s project success rate.

Question 4: Create a HRM Strategy for Tran that could have been put into place to keep a project on

track and successful

“You can have the best strategy and the best building in the world, but if you don’t have the hearts and

minds of the people who work with you, none of it comes to life.” - Renee West, Luxor and Excalibur Ho-

tel
CEBEX HRM strategy

The key components of the CEBEX Human Resources Management Strategy are listed as follows:

• Restructuring and Job Design

• Training and Development

• HR Planning, Recruitment and Selection

• Outsourcing

• Rewards and Recognition

• Performance Management

Restructuring and Job Design

The key components of the strategy include:

• Regrouping tasks to create well designed jobs

• Reorganizing work units to be more efficient

• Employee empowerment

• Team work

Employee empowerment and a strong focus on team work would be the most effective forms of

job design for CEBEX and Tran’s project team. One of the key takeaways from increased employee em-

powerment is a strong sense of accountability to coworkers and the organization as a whole. Once the

team’s second testing milestone failed to be reached, goodwill had been “tested” and emotions were

“frayed”. People began concerning themselves more with the bonus and less with their responsibilities to

their job and the organization. Also, the team began to complain that the project was destined to fail and
that they weren’t given a fair opportunity to succeed. Once the third testing milestone failed to be

reached, the team essentially signed off for the day with no concern as to the results, and what “next

steps” were needed. There is clearly a lack of accountability to each other as professionals and to the

project and its goals.

Tran had noticed the discontentment forming within the team and began to host daily meetings.

Each meeting discussed what was accomplished yesterday and what will be accomplished today in order

to keep hopes up high. Despite hosting daily motivational meetings, Tran still faces major setbacks re-

garding the technological system failures and the arguing project team. Perhaps this was viewed as micro-

management to the engineers and was only having a positive effect in the eyes of Tran.

Training and development

The key components of the strategy include:

• Seminars and conferences

• Providing staff with training to take on increased roles

• Team building activities

• Providing current staff with development opportunities to prepare them for future jobs in the or-

ganization

Training and development needs can be met in a variety of ways. One approach is for the em-

ployer to pay for employees to upgrade their skills. This may involve sending the employee to take cour-

ses or certificates or it may be accomplished through on-the-job training. Many training and development

needs can be met through cost effective techniques. This can also be considered as a non-financial reward

for excellent work in the project.

This retreat served to create goodwill throughout the entire team, managers included. When the first mile-

stone failed to be reached, the team worked exceptionally hard and as a group to make up the lost time.

Seminars and Conferences have also been shown to be an excellent tool for communicating an or-

ganizations ideas, policies and procedures and have often been used when an attitude change is required

by its employees (Stewart et.al, 2014, p.166).

HR Planning, Recruitment and Selection

The key components of the strategy include:

• Recruiting staff with the skill sets, abilities and background that the organization requires

• Consider all the available options for strategically promoting job openings and encouraging suit-

able candidates to apply

• Allowing the Line/Project Manager to take an active role in the selection process.

Outsourcing strategies

The key components of the strategy include:

• Using external individuals or organizations to assist with completing tasks.

Many organizations look outside their own staff pool and contract for certain skills. This is partic-

ularly helpful for accomplishing specific, specialized tasks that don't require ongoing full-time work.

Each outsourcing decision has implications for meeting the organization's goals and should therefore be

carefully assessed. This option is a consideration for some of the difficult technical issues that the team

are having. Any new members to the team, particularly with a superior skill set, would have to be intro-

duced and made part of the team in such a way that does not create discontent.
Rewards and Recognition

The key components of the strategy include:

• Salary and Benefits

• Non-financial Rewards

• Employee recognitions for job well done

Market forces have created a divide in the salaries of the hardware and electrical engineers, and

bonuses have been allocated based on the milestones of the project being met. Including some non-finan-

cial rewards may help the hardware engineers with their concerns over differences in salary. These would

include giving employees challenging work, career development, training, and the opportunity for older

employees to mentor younger employees (Stewart et.al, 2014, p.255).

Performance Management

The key components of the strategy include:

• Regular, ongoing performance feedback

• Coaching

• Performance reviews

Continual feedback to employees and the use of coaching and recognition programs would all

serve well to help reinforce team, organizational and project performance. Having yearly and/or project

completion reviews are far more beneficial in determining individual performance. The yearly reviews

need to be of a positive nature based on performance goals, previously set.

Eileen Stewart, Monica Belcourt, Catherine Fitzgerald, George W. Bohlander, and Scott A. Snell (2014)

Essentials of Managing Human Resources, 5th Canadian ed. Nelson.

HR Council (2011 September). Compensation and Benefits. HR Toolkit. Retrieved December 7, 2015,
 from http://www.hrcouncil.ca/hr-toolkit/planning-compensation.cfm

Peter Vanden Bos (2010, April 26). How to Build an Onboarding Plan for a New Hire. Retrieved

December 7, 2015, from http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/04/building-an-onboarding-plan.html

Top 50 HR Quotes. (2014, July 6). Retrieved From http://www.managementguru.net/top-50-hr-quotes/

December 2, 2015.